We’ve had the #MeToo movement, so now what?
This question is what Jill Raymond, a Richmond-based actress and producer, will explore on-stage in her new show playing at the Vancouver Fringe Festival.
The show, Hysteria, depicts future technology, which mitigates the “hysterical response” to the #MeToo movement where women step forward with their stories of sexual assault and abuse, said Raymond.
The plot centers on a new app, which is released following a controversial referendum, allowing the instant documentation of sexual consent.
The app removes miscommunications, eliminates false reports and enables rape cases to be fast-tracked for conviction and sentencing.
“But we are already seeing that technology collapses a lot of information about us. Our information is already being used by different companies or being sent to different authorities all the time,” said Raymond, owner of Direct Theatre Collective.
“So the show explores this broader idea that runs between the idea of how technology can potentially help us and the idea of how it could potentially derail us.”
Raymond, an actor in the show, which she produced and co-wrote, said she was personally inspired by the #MeToo movement and wanted to create a theatre piece that explores the "post #MeToo society."
“It [the show] comes from being personally affected by the [#MeToo] movement and also from knowing that a lot of people, nearly all women, have been affected in some way by it or by having experiences to do with that,” said Raymond.
“We know that these things exist, but what can we do and how can we move forward as a society?”
With live music, five actors in the show will play roles in both the featured story and also the small unique scenes, where they will perform as themselves sharing their own experiences.
The show features an “all-woman” cast – all actors and members on the creative team are women, according to Raymond.
“The topic can be a difficult subject and I wanted to make it a safe space for us to work in, space where we feel able to shadow stories and create stories from our own experiences and perspectives,” said Raymond.
“The production does not say all men are horrible or bad; what we are saying is this is what we have experienced and let’s open this conversation; let’s talk more about what’s happening from both sides. That’s the only way we are going to move forward together.”
Raymond hopes Hysteria will generate dialogue among audience members.
“For people who don’t know much about the subject or who haven’t had an experience, they may start to understand a bit more about it and the reasons why there is so much hysteria surrounding the issue at the moment,” she said.
“For people having those experiences or living with them, I hope for them to realize that there is a sense in which they are being supported; there are people out there who are listening, and who are able to take these important issues to a broader audience.”
The 70-minute Hysteria will be performed at the Cultch Historic Theatre as part of the Vancouver Fringe Festival from Sept 7-15.
Tickets can be purchased at https://tickets.vancouverfringe.com/shows/hysteria/events.
